A Literary Analysis Of Powder By Tobias Wolff

Nathalie Diaz’s poems “How to Go to Dinner with a Brother on Drug” and “ My Brother at 3 A.M” point out how drug and alcohol abuse cause stress and problems over a family. Diaz explains the struggle that her family has to be through because of her brother addiction. Diaz’s poems show her life and the struggle she needs to experience such as drug addiction, violence, and poverty.

Understanding the relationship between father and son can be very difficult, and sometimes it is hard to describe. In the novel Night, by Elie Wiesel, the author uses many examples like imagery, tone, and foreshadowing to understand what a father/son relationship is like and to help the reader understand. Some examples given were when Elie watched his father get whipped, seen his father break down and cry for the very first time, and staying with his father through all the suffering. A father and his son's relationship can never be broken, not even by death.

If we were able to make our children smarter, better looking, or more athletic, should we? Amy Sterling Casil had that exact scenario in mind when she wrote her short story, Perfect Stranger in 2006. Written in the first-person narrative that takes place in the distant future, Casil weaves a terrifying story of genetic alteration to “fix” our children’s flaws. What harm can it cause if gene therapy is performed as an elective procedure rather than medical necessity? Gary and Carolyn, expecting parents, find out their little boy will need gene therapy while still in the womb if they hope to spare him from a fatal heart condition. Due to the therapy, their little boy, Denny, is born healthy. As time goes on they are presented with opportunities to make him smarter, thinner, and more athletic. In turn, Gary questions if they have made the right moral decision concerning their son. Furthermore, what happens to the relationship between a father and his son when the son becomes a perfect stranger? Perfect Stranger illustrates how a parent’s decision to change pieces of their son’s genetic makeup cannot only change what makes him who he is but, can also have a negative impact on the people around him.

Like many children her age, the girl in Julie Otsuka’s novel When the Emperor was Divine had the opportunity to attend a “summer camp.” However, the camps that the girl and her family endured were not like traditional summer getaways but instead state-sponsored prisons designed to keep the populace “safe.” Instead of enjoying the water slides and rope swings that other children her age got to experience, the girl struggled with establishing an identity that fit with the rest of her society. With her use of neutral tone and language, Julie Otsuka explores the creation of the cultural identity that is established by the Japanese-American people as they are confined in Concentration camps designed to keep the nation safe.

The poem “A Story” by Li-Young Lee depicts the complex relationship between a boy and his father when the boy asks his father for a story and he can’t come up with one. When you’re a parent your main focus is to make your child happy and to meet all the expectations your child meets. When you come to realize a certain expectation can’t satisfy the person you love your reaction should automatically be to question what would happen if you never end up satisfying them. When the father does this he realizes the outcome isn’t what he’d hope for. He then finally realizes that he still has time to meet that expectation and he isn’t being rushed. Through shifting points of view, a purposeful structure, and settle choices in diction the author adds

The concept of “The Hero’s Journey” plays a major role in nearly every piece of fiction humanity has created since its inception, from epic poems to blockbuster movies. In many ways, works of fiction and some pieces of nonfiction could not exist and would not make sense without the concept of a Hero’s Journey; it allows the reader to comprehend and follow the progression of characters over the course of the story. While Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road may not display most of the archetypal qualities found in classic Hero’s Journeys such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit or Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, it most clearly exemplifies the qualities of a Hero’s Journey through the Boy’s character in relation to the mentor, tests and enemies, and the

Through this struggle, the little boy demonstrates his fear yet forgiveness towards his dad and allows us to understand his predicaments. Roethke’s strong diction encompasses images of both fear and unconditional love that portray the complexities of violence both physically and emotionally for the intricacies in his relationship with his

Abigail Adams encourages her son to independently succeed by using rhetorical strategies in the letter she wrote to him. In her writing, she inspires him to thrive on his journey to France as well as be cautious of the many perils that lie ahead. Adams’s motherly nature helps to establish a firm yet loving tone; she only wants the best for her son. She is aware of his mental capabilities and wishes to expand them. Adams prompts her son to improve his leader-like qualities by exploring and becoming familiar with the unknown. In doing so, she compares him to be like the prominent leaders of the past, for a great demeanor is formed by gaining the courage to overcome obstacles. Adams’s supports her advice with various rhetorical strategies including her ambitions and credibility as a mother, as well as her appeal to logos.

Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is an example of how archetypal irony can shape an entire work. Gregor Samsa our main character is not concerned at all with his own personal wellbeing when he awakes to discover this twist. He is concerned with the inconvenience that it may have on those around him. Even through his death we see the truth behind those who he is most concerned with, which in itself is ironic. Irony is first seen when a man wakes up to find that a cruel twist of fate has turned him into a giant beetle. Irony is used to separate what is perceived and what is reality.

“Man pleaded innocent by reason of insanity for the murder of his mother”(Gross). Although the case of the man murdering his mother is not entirely similar to what Hamlet does they do share some similarities. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet , Shakespeare uses the idea of a someone murdering one of their own family members in his play. In Hamlet the once ruler of Denmark ,king Hamlet, is long dead before the play begins with everyone thinking his cause of death was from the bite of a snake This is proven to be a lie however, when Ghost of king Hamlet visits his son Hamlet and reveals to him that his true killer is Hamlet’s uncle ,the new king of Denmark, Claudius. The play then follows Hamlet as he tries to take revenge for his father’s death.

According to traditional gender roles, the father is the provider for the family. He is

The American dream, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful. The passage sees Richard Rodriguez describing a past Christmas experience. Rodriguez uses language and details about his siblings, parents, and himself to suggest the American dream of material success.

The story Powder by Tobias Wolff is a coming of age story because in the end of the story the son gets a new perspective on life. It all start when the son’s father asked him to move the sawhorse for him. The sawhorse was blocking the road because the road was closed off due to the snow storm. The moving of the sawhorse can symbolize a transition point for the son because by moving the sawhorse this went against the usual son’s traits. The son’s traits are responsible, cautious, and always thinks ahead, but by moving the sawhorse he commits a reckless act which went against his original ways. After moving the sawhorse, the son and his father carefully took off down the road. While driving down the road the son knew that they would get caught

In Sherman Alexie’s short story, “War Dances,” the narrator unravels in thoughts and takes us through events in his life. He picks up by speaking about a cockroach that ends up dying in his Kafka baggage from a trip to Los Angeles. The cockroach still appears many times throughout the story. The narrator spends quality time in the hospital with his father, who is recovering from surgery due to diabetes and alcoholism, all along the way while he, himself, discovers he might have a brain tumor, leading his right ear to talk about his father. Using a style of tragedy and care both incorporate together a symbolic story that would make even a plain reader feel touched, leading to the major occurrence of a theme of the importance of family.

Forgiveness is the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. (Hawkins, 1994, P. 206) My personal understanding of the parable ‘The Prodigal Son” is that it portrays the importance of reasoning and forgiveness. The main characters in the parable are two sons and a betrayed father. The father remains constant throughout the parable, although he has being betrayed by his younger son. His idiosyncrasy remains loving and understanding, even when his younger son returned home after many of been away with not a penny to his name.